National broadcasters focus on Ripon Cathedral’s £6 million annexe plan
The decision to pause
Ripon Cathedral’s controversial annexe planning application came 14 days before Channel 4’s chief correspondent Alex Thomson was due to put the issue under the national spotlight.
BBC wildlife presenter and conservationist Chris Packham urged his 630,000 followers on X, formerly Twitter, to support the ‘save our trees’ petitioners in Ripon on Friday.
He said:
“Ripon Cathedral were due to fell 11 beech trees in a conservation area to build a cafe, but paused when made aware @Channel4News were coming to interview campaigners.”
“Tree vandalism’ in our precious urban green spaces must end – please support those that are fighting back . . .”
Chris Packham
Alex Thomson
Feargal Sharkey
The cathedral responds
In response to Mr Packham’s claim that the cathedral’s actions in pausing the planning application were carried out only because of the Channel 4 interest in the plans, a spokeswoman for the Dean and Chapter, said:
“This is not the case at all. This pause and opportunity for further consultation was discussed by Chapter in the autumn and the decision made to request a pause in December. This took effect once planning officers gave their approval in January. Conversations with Channel 4 about the opportunity to speak with them are unrelated.”
The spokeswoman, added:
“It should also be noted that the cathedral is not planning to remove 11 Beech trees from a conservation area.”
The 1,000 sq metres annexe would include an 80-seat refectory, gift shop, song school, new toilets with accessibility for disabled people and space for storage. But the cathedral proposes to make space by removing the trees and compensating for their loss by planting 300 trees on private land near Studley.
Last month, the proposed removal of a veteran beech and 10 other mature trees from Minster Gardens brought a similar call from pop star-turned-environmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey who brought the issue to the attention of his 229,000 followers on X.
He described the proposal to plant 300 trees on land near Studley as compensation for the felled Minster Gardens trees as “greenwashing at its finest”.
Environmental journalist Mr Thomson was scheduled to visit Ripon on January 30 to report on plans for a £6 million development and while that is now on hold, he is keeping an eye on developments in liaison with fellow environmental journalist and Ripon-based tree campaigner, Brian McHugh.
The Woodland Trust’s reaction
The beech tree is on the Woodland Trust’s inventory of ancient trees.
Jack Taylor, lead campaigner at the conservation charity, said on Wednesday it was “delighted” the cathedral was reconsidering its plans. He added:
“With 80% of the UK population living in urban areas, urban trees provide so many benefits, from cleaning our air, to capturing carbon, shading our streets and supporting urban wildlife.
“We would also like to extend our gratitude to the local people who have taken up the fight for their trees. These irreplaceable living legends absolutely need people to stand up for them. We now encourage Ripon Cathedral to go back to the drawing board and ensure they are protected.”
The day before the trust’s announcement,
the Stray Ferret revealed the Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd John Dobson and the cathedral chapter, had put the plans on hold “for a number of months”.
An aerial computer generated image of the proposed annexe development. Picture Ripon Renewed..
Ripon city council leader Andrew Williams, had called for the cathedral to pause its plans shortly before it did so.
The cathedral’s statement
A statement issued on behalf of the Dean and Chapter on Tuesday afternoon, said:
“Following continued and constructive collaboration with planners from North Yorkshire Council, Ripon Cathedral has taken the decision to pause the planning application for its proposed north side development for a number of months.
“During this period, there will be opportunities for additional consultation, where we will once again be able to listen to comments and concerns from the people of Ripon and the region in relation to the proposed new building. We will also continue to work constructively with the planners and other key stakeholders.
“We hope that this will allow us to move forward in a way that considers people’s genuine concerns and takes in the opinions of stakeholders, whilst allowing us to deliver the amenities that the cathedral so desperately needs along with the benefits the building will bring to the city and region.
“The exhibition of the project remains in the cathedral and further opportunities for informed feedback will be advertised on our social media channels and website in due course.”.
Main image: Save our Trees campaigners led by Ripon resident Jenni Holman who has raised a petition with more than 2,100 signatures.
Exclusive: Ripon Cathedral ‘pauses’ controversial annexe planning applicationRipon Cathedral is to pause its controversial annexe planning application following a request by city councillor Andrew Williams.
The proposed £6 million development, which would house a refectory, song school, shop and Changing Places Toilet, will be put on hold ‘for a number of months’ to allow further consultation with all interested parties.
These include campaigners with a 2,100-name petition raised in a bid to save a veteran beech and 10 other mature trees from being cut down to make way for the two-storey standalone building on Minster Gardens — a green public open space currently owned by North Yorkshire Council.
A statement issued this afternoon, on behalf of the Dean of Ripon the Very Revd John Dobson and the Cathedral Chapter said:
“Following continued and constructive collaboration with planners from North Yorkshire Council, Ripon Cathedral has taken the decision to pause the planning application for its proposed north side development for a number of months.
“During this period, there will be opportunities for additional consultation, where we will once again be able to listen to comments and concerns from the people of Ripon and the region in relation to the proposed new building. We will also continue to work constructively with the planners and other key stakeholders.
“We hope that this will allow us to move forward in a way that considers people’s genuine concerns and takes in the opinions of stakeholders, whilst allowing us to deliver the amenities that the cathedral so desperately needs along with the benefits the building will bring to the city and region.
“The exhibition of the project remains in the cathedral and further opportunities for informed feedback will be advertised on our social media channels and website in due course.”
A petition by Ripon resident and save our trees campaigner Jenni Holman has already been signed by 2,100 people, some of whom attended this peaceful protest on November 25.
Cllr Williams approached the cathedral seeking a three-month pause following a vote taken last month by city councillors to withdraw its ‘in principle’ support for the scheme and formally object to the proposal.
The vote to object was carried by four votes to three at the December 11 meeting. Councillors Williams and Barbara Brodigan, who sit on North Yorkshire Council’s Skipton and Ripon area constituency committee planning committee, absented themselves from the meeting and did not take part in the debate that preceded the vote.
Cllr Williams told the Stray Ferret:
“As the divisional member for North Yorkshire Council I indicated in February last year that I have a duty to represent those on both sides of the issue.
“As a result, I asked the cathedral to pause their application to allow them time to assess fully the objections raised to their current proposals.
“This will allow time for a site meeting to take place with officers from North Yorkshire Council planning and the applicant to see whether it is possible to meet the core objectives of the cathedral whilst addressing the concerns raised to the current plans.”
The veteran Beech tree.
He added:
“If after further deliberations have taken place it does prove possible for Ripon Cathedral to bring forward new proposals, these should be the subject of widespread public consultation and I have already suggested to the Dean that such public consultation would be best undertaken away from the cathedral itself.
“I hope that all sides of this debate will now take a step back and look at how best Ripon can move forward together as a community. In my view it is vital that Ripon has a viable and sustainable cathedral as I believe do the vast majority of the objectors to the current proposals.
“I would like to make it clear that I am not expressing any view on the merits of the current planning application, simply seeking to see if common ground can be found between everyone.”
The cathedral said in a statement the Dean was “pleased that Cllr Williams’ views were consistent with the thoughts of Chapter”, adding it had been “listening to many voices and working constructively with planners”. It added:
“It is as a result of all of this that the cathedral reached a decision to engage in renewed consultation before further developments.”
Ripon’s military heritage under threat again after U-turnRipon’s priceless military heritage assets are under threat once more after an about-turn from the government’s housing and regeneration agency Homes England.
Ripon played a major role in both world wars and the Cold War. The poet Wilfred Owen was among thousands stationed in the city during the First World War and the Laver Banks site played a pioneering role in military bridges. Further details are available here.
Military and civic organisations campaigned to preserve this heritage when plans were revealed to build 1,300 homes at the city’s barracks, which will be the biggest single residential development in Ripon’s history.
They thought the section 106 agreement agreed with developers when the project was approved last year would do this but Jane Furse (pictured below) a trustee of Ripon Military Heritage Trust, told the Stray Ferret:
“Homes England has said that the military heritage aspects of the barracks site has not been included in the section 106 agreement that they have been drawing up with North Yorkshire planners.
“This comes as a massive disappointment after we have fought so hard to ensure that the extremely rare and historically-important assets currently on the proposed housing development site have the legal protection that would be afforded through the 106 agreement.
“Homes England’s actions fly in the face of a democratic decision made at a Harrogate Borough Council meeting last February, when members agreed that a legally-binding agreement needed to be in place to protect the site’s military heritage.”
Ms Furse added:
“Ripon, as a military city played a crucial role in both world wars and the subsequent cold war period in areas ranging from bomb disposal to the development of Bailey Bridges that were used in many different theatres of war.
“Its Royal Engineers received the Freedom of the City in 1949 in thanks for their worldwide service and it is rather ironic, in a year when we will be marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, to find ourselves in an uncertain position with regard to the heritage that Ripon has built over decades, and which now could be lost to a housing development
“Our fight goes on and we will be pressing North Yorkshire Council to call on Homes England to carry out the wishes of the councillors who represent Ripon and the wider area.”
This heavy girder bridge over the River Laver on the barracks site was the successor to the Bailey Bridge.
At the Harrogate Borough Council planning meeting in February at which Homes England was effectively given the green light for the 1,300-home development to be known as Clotherholme, councillors agreed a clause, referring to: ‘provision within the s106 to secure a strategy to secure military heritage within the site.’
Without this in place any plans to preserve and promote Ripon’s military history and develop a trail that has potential to attract heritage tourists to the city will remain in doubt.
The Stray Ferret is seeking a response from Homes England.
Main image: Rare huts that were home to Second World War soldiers are among the heritage buildings the trust is trying to preserve. Picture RMHT
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Ripon’s inner-city bus service to be extended to Ure BankA route on Ripon’s city-wide bus service is being extended to serve residents living in the Ure Bank area.
Launched last April, the service has guaranteed funding for four years and the prospect of more to follow.
Councillor Peter Horton, chair of Ripon City Council’s transport group, told the Stray Ferret:
“The Ure Bank extension has been approved by North Yorkshire Council and will come on stream from April.
“Usage of the bus service is steadily increasing across the four routes that serve the city and we are delighted that its reach is being extended to take in another residential area in Ripon.”
The runs from Monday to Saturday and city council leader Andrew Williams, who is also the North Yorkshire Council member for the Minster and Moorside division, said:
“We have been able to make this happen with the support of the new unitary authority, in addition to section 106 monies from retail and residential developments in Ripon and money from the city council’s contingency fund.
“Looking beyond the first four years, we will be seeking further section 106 contributions to support the service as more residential schemes, such as West Lane, come on stream.”
Picture: The Ripon bus service covers for routes
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Will Sharow’s potholed roads ever be top of a levelling up agenda?Will enough of the pots of money for pothole repairs announced by the government find its way to sorting out Sharow’s unresolved road issues?
The village near Ripon has 195 potholes of varying dimensions along 300 metres of Sharow Lane — its principal throughfare — and New Road.
When Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled the HS2 high speed rail project and promised to use the billions saved on solving the nation’s persistent pothole problems, Sharow resident and former parish councillor James Thornborough initially felt that his lobbying on the issue would finally reap reward.
But the long-time road and environmental campaigner now believes that his village could be overlooked as the re-directed HS2 is spent on other locations across North Yorkshire.
Spending of £630,000 to solve nearby Ripon’s long-running rocky road issues around Market Square looks a certainty, but Mr Thornborough has already spotted the potential get-out clauses that would enable North Yorkshire highways to make a last-minute swerve around Sharow’s resurfacing request.
The potholes run the length of New Road
An email sent to him last month by Barrie Mason, North Yorkshire’s assistant director for highways and transportation said:
“The Highways Capital Annual Programme for 2024/25 was recently approved. The roads in Sharow were not included in this programme, however, North Yorkshire Council has been awarded additional funding as part of the government’s Network North funding.
“We are currently in the process of developing an updated programme for 24/25 which will outline how this additional funding will be spent.
“Both New Road and Sharow Lane are being considered for this additional programme in 24/25. It is the intention that the updated programme will be finalised and formally approved in late January 2024.”
‘So many false dawns’
For Mr Thornborough, it’s the words ‘being considered’ which gives him most concern. He told the Stray Ferret:
“There have been so many false dawns on this long and bumpy journey and I currently feel pessimistic rather than optimistic, but have fingers crossed.”
He believes that the on-going situation is unsustainable and pointed out:
“All we are getting is reactive repairs to an increasingly worsening situation
“The current default of filling every new pothole does not constitute ‘corrective action’. Corrective’ action requires a sustainable solution and filled in Sharow potholes barely survive three months.”
Sharow Lane, where temporary-fix repairs have been made to the deteriorating road surface
Mr Thornborough added:
“New Road and the top of Sharow Lane bear manifest evidence of a failed defect strategy. At last count 195 repaired pot holes spanned 300 metres of highway. No other road section in the region bears evidence of such wholesale degradation. Driving over the road surface is a ‘bone shaker’.
“The North Yorkshire highways director has conceded repairs amounting to £200,000 are needed. To date that sum has never received capital award, despite the appalling condition. Intervention is required.
“In the case of Sharow, future tarmac repairs will only survive if the road is returned to a level surface. Highways engineers will need to complete a graded mechanical scrape followed by a new tarmac top. North Yorkshire Highways have no other option because they have admitted that the road surface is so decrepit that it will not support ‘dressing’ with chippings.”
Halls of Ripon to expand through major reconfigurationHalls of Ripon, the city’s only department store, is increasing its floorspace as part of a major revamp and reconfiguration.
The store in Fishergate which is home to 16 independent retailers, will be temporarily closed from Friday and is scheduled re-open in early February.
Owned by Ripon-based property investment and development company Sterne Properties Ltd, the former Wrens store re-opened under its new Halls of Ripon branding in July 2021.
Halls of Ripon director Mike Cooper (pictured below) whose son Barry runs Red Buttons Jewellers within the store, told the Stray Ferret:
“It’s testimony to the strength of Ripon’s independent retail offer that we are expanding when many of the big names on the high street are closing stores.”
He pointed out:
“The demand for space remains very strong and we will be able to satisfy that demand with a reconfiguration that will create room for up to seven more independent businesses.”
Halls of Ripon director Mike Cooper
For Zoe Wotherspoon, who owns the ladies fashion, accessories and gifts retailer Robin Gifts, the increased space is timely.
She said:
“We have done so well since opening our second outlet at Halls last February, that we decided to move out of Harrogate and consolidate our offer at one location.”
Ms Wotherspoon, added:
“The revamp will give us 40 percent more space in the prime location at the front of the store and we feel very confident for the future as we continue to attract new customers.”
While the work at the front half of the department store is under way, The Hive Cafe, which can be accessed from the Marshall Way car park entrance, will remain open throughout.
Keeley Buller who co-owns the business with her partner David Ward, said:
“Over the past 30 months we have built a loyal customer base and the enhancements that will come with the revamp are good news for us.”
In addition to the reconfiguration of the department store, Sterne Properties will be remodelling the building and installing a new roof to create two high quality apartments on the upper floors of the building.
Main image: Zoe Wotherspoon, whose Robin Gifts business is expanding with the increase in floorspace at Halls of Ripon
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Gallery: Sensational fireworks display sees New Year arrive with a bang in RiponThe New Year arrived with a huge bang as Ripon ushered in 2024 in spectacular fashion last night with a fireworks display, the like of which has never been seen before in the city centre.
For 10 minutes from the stroke of midnight on the Ripon Cathedral clock, revellers who had earlier danced to the Caribbean beat of the Jamsalana Steel Band were treated to an exhibition of precision pyrotechnics.
A pulsating palette of colours burst upon the night sky in wave after wave of controlled explosion and at its conclusion a gathering of more than 2,000 people on Market Square spontaneously applauded.
Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams, who put £1,000 of his North Yorkshire Council locality budget towards the cost of the display, told the Stray Ferret:
“We wanted it to be bigger and better than last year’s fireworks finale and it certainly was!”
He added:
“I’ve never seen anything like this in the city centre before and while I know it won’t have been to everybody’s liking, the automatic reaction of the audience spoke for itself.”
The number of people on Market Square grew throughout the evening and by midnight, more than 2,000 were present to see the fireworks
Last night’s New Year’s Eve event, paid for from the parish precept, has been staged over decades by the city council and is firmly established on the authority’s annual calendar.
Before Jamsalana (pictured below) struck up, there was the ever-present reminder for Ripon residents and visitors of the city’s rich heritage, when Wayne Cobbett, a member of the hornblower team, set the watch with blasts at the four corners of the obelisk.
The instrument that he uses, is the 1996 horn, donated to the city to celebrate the 1100th anniversary since Alfred the Great, the first Anglo-Saxon King of England, gave a ceremonial horn to the people of Ripon in thanks for the courage they showed in fighting off a Viking incursion in 886 AD.
The Mayor of Ripon Councillor Sid Hawke, who was celebrating his birthday, was present for the setting of the watch and later, in another city tradition, he returned to Market Square with Mayoress Linda Hawke after leading a candle-lit procession from the cathedral, attended by clergy and members of the congregation.
The procession included the Dean of Ripon the Very Revd John Dobson, Canons Michael Gisbourne, Matthew Pollard and the Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Revd Anna Eltringham, who blessed the crowd from the town hall balcony.
Main image: The spectacular fireworks display provided the finale to an evening of celebration on Market Square
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No 2: Ripon Cathedral planning application – are you for or against?In this article, which is part of a series on the 12 stories in the Harrogate district that shaped 2023, we look at Ripon Cathedral’s controversial planning application for a £6 million development.
What a difference a year makes for Ripon Cathedral.
In 2022, the iconic grade I listed building was both the focus point and venue for numerous events to celebrate the 1,350th anniversary of its foundation.
Its crypt dating back to 672 AD means that Wilfrid’s creation contains the oldest surviving structure of any cathedral in England.
In June 2022, the Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, hosted North Yorkshire’s civic service of celebration for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and just 13 weeks later, was a fitting place for members of the community to grieve Her Late Majesty’s death.
The Dean of Ripon the Very Revd John Dobson, greeted visitors and civic guests who attended the Platinum Jubilee service for North Yorkshire held at the cathedral
At Easter 1985, Queen Elizabeth distributed Maundy money to Ripon citizens and her visit was remembered in fine style 37 years later as the cathedral celebrated its Royal connection.
Visitor figures for the ‘Cathedral of the Dales’ rose to a record 100,000 and included in that number were regular churchgoers, tourists, pilgrims and people who came to worship and/or attend events ranging from arts displays and exhibitions, to classical concerts, lectures and even a silent disco.
After such a successful year, in which the cathedral was undeniably the city’s top attraction, all it needed to do to bring more people through its doors, was to provide them with the 21st century facilities that the building lacks.
That would see the end of portable toilets on its piazza and remove the need to hire outside caterers for its hospitality events.
The proposed annex building plan includes a Changing Places toilet to increase accessibility to the cathedral for people with limited mobility. The public toilets currently on Minster Gardens (pictured above) would be demolished.
What happened next?
Last December, the Dean and Chapter’s plans to extend and enhance facilities for users of the building, were submitted nine days before Christmas to the then Harrogate Borough Council.
Since being open to public scrutiny in January, when the application was validated, the annex plan has been the subject of heated debate and acrimonious claims and counter claims on social media.
Among the hundreds of supporting and explanatory documents that could be seen on the Council planning portal, was details of a business plan centred on an 80-seat refectory, large enough to cater for visitors arriving in coach parties throughout the day.
The Cathedral Choir, with director of Music Dr Ronny Krippner (pictured left), is among the best in the country
Included in the proposed two-storey 1,000 square metres annex is a song school for the cathedral’s top-class choristers, a gift shop, toilets, and additional storage space for chairs and other equipment,
The planning application documents, including letters of support and objection could be found from January 20 on the Harrogate Borough Council planning portal, which subsequently became the North Yorkshire Council portal in April, when Harrogate council was abolished and subsumed into the new unitary authority.
The veteran beech has become the emblem of the protestors’ campaign
The Stray Ferret was first to report that, to make way for the annex, 11 mature trees, including a beech with veteran status, would need to be felled.
The objections begin
Among the early objectors to the scheme, were the planning authority’s own senior officers, including the ecologist and arboriculturist, who pointed out that removal of a veteran tree considered to be ‘irreplaceable’ should be resisted and planning permission only allowed if no other options are open to the applicant.
Objections from Statutory consultees the Woodland Trust and the Yorkshire Gardens Trust followed, but then came a letter of support from Historic England – the government’s expert adviser on the historic environment.
Its conclusion on the suitability of the proposed siting of the building, was at odds with the response from local heritage watchdog, Ripon Civic Society.
Following the cathedral’s pre-application presentation to Ripon City Council in December 2022, ten of its 12 members voted to support the ‘general principle’ of the plan, while saying it would comment further on the proposal, once detailed plans had been seen.
In February, owners of hospitality businesses in Kirkgate, attended a city council meeting to tell members that the proposed refectory would ‘funnel’ trade away from them and straight into the annex building.
The cathedral, has claimed from the outset that an uplift of up to 50% more footfall generated by the new development would be beneficial for all of the city’s businesses.
The Dean, who was at the council meeting, along with members of the cathedral chapter, told traders that they had no reason for ‘anxiety’ but a paragraph in the design and access document prepared on behalf of the cathedral said, in black and white:
“Cathedral Refectory: for this to be a financially viable part of the cathedral business plan it needs to be a certain size, to accommodate a coach party, and be very close to the cathedral. This is required to prevent visitors from drifting away from the cathedral and using the various cafés in the city.”
Through the words of the cathedral’s own adviser, the fears of traders were confirmed as being correct and, along with the threat of lost trees, a two-pronged campaign opposing the annex plans gained momentum.
Traders and tree campaigners raise objections
Since April, Ripon resident Jenni Holman, has been raising a petition to save the trees and green space of Minster Gardens.
Her paper petition, supplied in 20 tranches to North Yorkshire planners had, before the Christmas holiday, collected 2078 signatures including new signatories who gathered with dozens of fellow objectors, in a peaceful protest under the bough of the beech that has become the emblem of their campaign.
Ripon City Council’s withdraws support
The growing number of protestors with fears for trade and trees, was not lost on Ripon City Council and at its December meeting, members voted narrowly by 4 votes to 3 to withdraw support for the annex plan and raise an objection to it. The move came as a surprise to the Cathedral.
The peaceful protest took place by the veteran beech
The ‘save our trees’ campaign and November 25 protest, which has received support from the Woodland Trust, the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity, attracted wide media coverage, including items broadcast by Yorkshire’s Calendar News and Tyne Tees news and BBC Radio North Yorkshire.
A Christmas break
In the season of goodwill on earth and peace to all men, women and children, the cathedral and its burgeoning choir, painstakingly built by its highly-accomplished director of music, Dr Ronny Krippner, has been at the centre of much-loved and very well-attended traditional Christmas services.
But come the New Year, when those in favour and opposed to the planning application have taken down their festival decorations, the battle for hearts and minds will rage on – much of it through posts on social media.
The planning application will be considered by the Skipton and Ripon Constituency Planning Committee at a meeting to be held in Ripon, because of the strong local interest in it.
With the committee’s next meeting due to be held in Skipton on January 16, the earliest date for consideration of the cathedral’s application would be February.
Main image: An aerial cgi, showing where the annex would sit in relation to the cathedral: Picture Ripon Cathedral Renewed.
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Fireworks and live music to greet New Year in RiponRipon will be dancing to a Caribbean beat when it welcomes in 2024 this evening (Sunday).
Residents and visitors are invited to the city’s New Year’s Eve gathering on Market Square, where the live music will be provided by the Jamsalana Steel Drum band.
The traditional event on Ripon Market Square attracts thousands of revellers each year
The band will strike up at 9:45pm and the evening will conclude with a fireworks display at midnight.
Before the start of the celebration event, organised by Ripon City Council and paid for from the parish precept, at 9pm a member of the hornblower team will signal the setting of the watch with blasts of their horn at the four corners of the obelisk.
The ceremonial event, dating back to 886 AD – was instigated by Alfred the Great the first Anglo-Saxon King of England – and will provide the prelude to a night of free entertainment.
Today’s forecast is indicating that the rain and winds brought by Storm Gerrit will have reduced but, as with all outdoor events, it’s always advisable to bring an umbrella!
Full coverage of Ripon’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, will be published by the Stray Ferret on January 1
Main image: Tonight’s fireworks display will herald in the New Year
Time for a long-term fix for Ripon’s most unreliable civic timepieceQueen Victoria is not amused! Nor are those Ripon residents and passing road users who want to know the time of day (or night).
The problem is a monumental one and can be seen at the junction of North Road, Palace Road and Princess Road.
The clock tower, paid for by sisters Frances and Constance Cross to commemorate Queen Victoria’s 1897 Diamond Jubilee has, in recent times, become extremely unreliable.
Its hands are currently frozen on 7.37 am (or 7.37 pm) — and won’t be able to mark the arrival of the midnight hour that will herald in the New Year.
Ripon’s constant reminder of Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign comes in the form of the specially-commissioned Platinum Jubilee horn, which is one of the instruments used by hornblowers to set the city’s daily watch at 9pm prompt.
Less than half a mile from Ripon Town Hall, her great-great grandmother’s crossroads timepiece was once a means of reassuring travellers heading for trains at Ure Bank Station that they were not running late.
Victoria, who clocked up 63 years and 216 days on the throne – a record subsequently beaten by Elizabeth II – would surely be bemused by the four-faced clock’s erratic performance.
The clock tower, which was formally inaugurated in June 1898, bears a Ripon Civic Society green plaque and society co-chair Richard Taylor, told the Stray Ferret:
“I was delighted earlier this month, when the clock was fixed by North Yorkshire Council, but when a friend called and said it had stopped again within a matter of weeks, I thought they were winding me up!
“But joking apart, this is a significant and highly-visible monument of historic significance on the approach to the city centre and this time, please can a longer-lasting solution be found to sort out its internal workings.”
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